David Bahgat comes full circle with Columbus Children’s Theatre

David Bahgat’s life was transformed when he first came to Columbus
Children’s Theatre 18 years ago to learn to act as a pre-teen.
After gaining experience in about 20 CCT productions, Bahgat went on to a performing career
in a national tour and New York.
Now, partly lured by the catchy beat and upbeat story of a Broadway musical that he saw more
than once in New York, Bahgat has returned to central Ohio’s oldest youth troupe to teach and guide
a new generation of talent.
Baghat will direct
Hairspray, which will open Saturday at the Park Street Theatre in the the annual
production by the troupe’s Summer Pre-Professional Company for actors age 16 to 22.

David Bahgat File photo

"I feel it’s my turn now to help these kids, nurturing them and setting
them free – which is what Bill did for me," said Bahgat, 28.
"For me, working with Bill was such a great experience."
By "Bill," Bahgat is referring to William Goldsmith, Columbus Children’s Theatre veteran
artistic director who staged many of the 20 productions that gave Bahgat the experience he needed
to forge his performing-arts career.
Bahgat’s first show with the troupe’s pre-professional summer company was the 2002 production
of
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
"I still say that was the summer of my life," he said.
"I learned so much from the older kids and I looked up to them as mentors. I was 16 and they
were 21. and now, of course we’re all friends. That’s great."
At the age of 10, Bahgat made his CCT debut as the Munchkin coroner in the troupe’s 1996
production of
The Wizard of Oz.
Bahgat ultimately appeared in four of the summer pre-professional company productions.
Most notably, he played the title character in the troupe’s
Sweeney Todd in 2008 and the Baker in
Into the Woods in 2007 – his last shows here before moving to New York.
"For me, those summers were all about bonding and becoming an ensemble in a way that you don’t
really get to experience when you’re in school and taking classes," Bahgat said.
After graduating from Otterbein University in 2009, Bahgat performed as an apostle in the
2009 national tour of
Jesus Christ Superstar.
During his years in New York, Bahgat saw
Hairspray several times on Broadway, where it ran from 2002 to 2009 and won eight Tony
awards, including for best musical and score.

Zoe Lathan (Motormouth), left to right, Angela DiCocco (Tracy) and Kelly Hogan (Velma) in the
Columbus Children’s Theatre production of
Hairspray Credit: William Goldsmith

"It’s such a fun musical about a plus-size girl and social acceptance,"
Bahgat said.
"The campy aspect sucks you in from the beginning and the score is fantastic."
His main challenge as director, he discovered, was anchoring the campy style in psychological
realism.
"You have to find the truth and honesty in camp material and then layer the goofiness and
silliness," Bahgat said.
"It’s difficult because you can’t just play a gag."

Zoe Lathan (Motormouth), left to right, Angela DiCocco (Tracy Turnblad) and Daniel Mollett
(as Edna Turnblad) in Columbus Children Theatre's production of
Hairspray. Credit: William Goldsmith

Bahgat has got a great bunch of young talents to work with – led by
Angela DiCocco as plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad and Daniel Mollet as Tracy’s mom Edna Turnblad,
two actors interviewed in my
Hairspray preview in Thursday’s
Weekender.
In fact, Bahgat pretty much views the cast as
"The Nicest Kids in Town," echoing one of
Hairspray’s peppy songs.
And he’s treating them pretty nicely, too.
"The challenge of a good director," he said, "is not to force the actors into his mold but
encourage them to figure out how to best fill their roles."
"It’s about letting them find their own independence," Bahgat said.
"A lot of these kids are training in a college program or were the leaders in their high
school programs so they’re young professionals. You have to trust them to figure it out, and guide
them. You’re not dealing with little kids."